Love Me When I'm Gone
by Riiko Shea
Summary: The time has come for Kyo to go into confinement, but will Tohru accept this fact? Oneshot KyoXTohru


A/N: Hey everyone. It's Riiko Shea. I am sitting in a hotel room in Pennsylvania, and I decided to write and post this little oneshot about Kyo and Tohru… It's sort of my idea of what might happen between Kyo and Tohru that might cause his curse to break right before he enters confinement, set to the song "When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down. So please, read and enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** All of the characters in this story belong to the lovely Natsuki Takaya. Lucky her. And the song belongs to 3 Doors Down.

**When I'm Gone**

Kyo Sohma narrowed his reddish-brown eyes and bit his cheek with pointed teeth so he wouldn't cry. That would be shameful. It was, after all, his duty as the Cat, to go into confinement, no matter what Tohru might think.

Akito came up to Kyo, stroking his cheek, smirking. "Don't worry, Kyo," murmured the head of the family. "I will come visit you. Who needs that monster girl anyways?"

_There's another world inside of me _

_That you may never see_

_There're secrets in this life_

_That I can't hide._

Kyo turned away from Akito angrily and his eyes caught the purple eyes of the grey-haired boy sanding nearby. Yuki didn't look happy. He looked, thought Kyo, upset. That was surprising. Hatsuharu, Momiji, Kagura, and all the other members of the Zodiac watched, silently, as Kyo moved towards the room where he would spend the rest of his life.

But Kyo scanned the crowd of Sohmas from the "Inside" for one person. Tohru. And she wasn't there.

_Somewhere in this darkness_

_There's a light that I can't find_

_Maybe it's too far away…_

_Or maybe I'm just blind…_

_Or maybe I'm just blind…_

Wait. Why wasn't she there? That couldn't be right. He scanned the crowd again. No brown-haired girl could be seen. But… she had promised to be there. The week before, when they had graduated, he had asked her to see him off to confinement, and she had agreed. But she wasn't here.

Kyo stopped suddenly, hearing something behind him. He turned. There she was, fighting off a group of Sohma maids who were trying their very hardest to get her out of the estate. Kyo ripped himself from Akito's grasp to go help her. How dare they touch her? And then he felt hands gripping his arms, and his petty, vengeful father was holding him back, fear giving him strength, while fury fueled his son who struggled, reaching to Tohru.

_So hold me when I'm here,_

_Right me when I'm wrong,_

_Hold me when I'm scared, _

_And love me when I'm gone._

_Everything I am _

_And everything in me_

_Wants to be the one _

_You wanted me to be._

Kyo fought his father's grip. He had to get to Tohru. Now, before his chance was gone. He had to say good-bye. She had helped him, listened to him, trusted him… and he was a monster. She had changed everything for him. Tohru had made him realize, much as Shishou did, that he was better than he had been told. She made him feel that his birthright didn't make him worthless.

And even after everything- attacking her in monster form, yelling at her, fighting with her friends- and even though he was the Cat, here she was again, stretching out her hand to him around the bodies of the maids, struggling to help the Cat. The one no one wanted to help.

_I'll never let you down, _

_Even if I could_

_I'd give up everything,_

_If only for your good,_

_So hold me when I'm here,_

_Right me when I'm wrong_

_You can hold me when I'm scared,_

_You won't always be there,_

_So love me when I'm gone._

_Love me when I'm gone…_

Akito leapt in front of Kyo, throwing out his arms so that Kyo and his father were partially hidden from Tohru's view. "What are you doing here?!" Akito shrieked. "You can't be here! You cannot help this monster!" He pointed to Kyo, who opened his mouth to defend the girl.

But Tohru beat him to the punch. "Kyo-kun isn't a monster!" she shouted, tears coursing down her face. "He's a person! A person with thoughts, and feelings, and memories, and a say in what happens to him!"

_When your education X-ray_

_Cannot see under my skin,_

_I won't tell you a damn thing_

_That I could not tell my friends._

Akito was livid, Kyo could tell. The Cat's spirit within him shrank back in fear, and from the way Yuki, Hatori, and the other Zodiac members were cringing, the spirits within them were reacting the same way.

Akito waved away the maids and stepped close to Tohru. "Kyo is a monster, just like you. He is destined to walk down that dark road for the rest of his life," he spat at the brown-haired girl. "This is the beginning and end of that road." He gestured to the walkway to the Cat's room.

_Roaming through this darkness, _

_I'm alive but I'm alone_

_Part of me is fighting, _

_But part of me is gone._

Why was she making this so difficult? Kyo wondered, watching Tohru glare at Akito. He had to go. He knew he did, even as he struggled to loosen his father's grip. Suddenly, it slackened. Surpirsed, Kyo turned, and saw Yuki, blood from Kyo's father's nose on his fist. The Rat nodded to the Cat. "Go," Yuki said.

Kyo rushed Akito, his fist slamming into Akito's face so that the black-haired head of the family crumpled to the ground. In moments he had pushed aside the women surrounding Tohru, and then he was holding her.

_So hold me when I'm here,_

_Right me when I'm wrong, _

_Hold me when I'm scared,_

_And love me when I'm gone._

_Everything I am_

_And everything in me_

_Wants to be the one _

_You wanted me to be._

He held on to Tohru, controlling his emotions fiercely, making sure not to get close enough for it to be considered a "hug" and transform. He knew that, in moments, Akito would get up and order him to the room. Then he would go. He would fulfill his birthright. But Tohru spoke.

"Kyo-kun… don't go. You shouldn't have to go. I don't want you to go. You don't deserve it. I love you, Kyo-kun… don't leave me alone!"

_I'll never let you down_

_Even if I could_

_I'd give up everything_

_If only for your good_

_So hold me when I'm here_

_Right me when I'm wrong_

_You can hold me when I'm scared_

_You won't always be there…_

Kyo's eyes widened. "What?" he gasped looking down into her blue eyes.

"I love you!" Tohru cried, and then he felt it. The Cat's spirit, leaving him. It felt like it flooded from his hands, and he released Tohru to look at them, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. Then he looked at Torhu, grabbed her, and hugged her, tightly.

_So love me when I'm gone._

_When I'm gone…_

He turned back to Akito who was getting to his feet, looking angry. "To the Cat's room, now, Kyo!" he shrieked, but Kyo shook his head.

"You see, Akito," Kyo said, smiling dangerously, "I'm no longer the Cat. I'm no longer under your control." He looked behind him and saw his Shishou walking towards him. Kyo bowed to him, and asked, "Did you know she would save me?"

_When I'm gone,_

_When I'm gone._

"I thought she might," the older man answered. "Now Kyo, it's time to come home."

Kyo nodded and took Tohru's hand in his hand… his _human_ hand. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I love you Tohru… and thanks." She smiled, and they walked out of the Sohma main estate together.

_It's not my time._

**A/N:** And that's it. (Since it doesn't say in the manga exactly how/why the curse breaks, this is the way I hope Kyo's breaks, sort of.) I hope you liked it… oh, the last line is from another 3 Doors Down song called "It's Not my Time" by 3 Doors Down. It isn't mine.

So did you like it? Hate it? Please review! You know, that little button down there that says, "Go"? Click it!

))Riiko Shea((


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